Posts in category: Blog

Philanthropy in Africa has long been a deeply rooted cultural practice, manifested in communal responsibility, kinship support, and the ethos of Ubuntu—”I am because we are.” In villages and towns alike, helping one another is not viewed as charity but as an essential social contract. As digital technologies spread across the continent, a new horizon for giving emerges—one that can amplify these traditions and reshape them for the 21st century.

In pre-digital Africa, acts of generosity happened face-to-face: a neighbour shared food, a family contributed to school fees, or a community rallied around a bereaved family. Today, smartphones, mobile money, and social media have become the new village square where generosity is expressed. Platforms like eGiver enable individuals and communities to mobilise support in real time. These platforms are also disrupting traditional hierarchies of giving, where philanthropy was often reserved for wealthy elites or foreign donors. Today, anyone with a mobile phone can contribute towards a need or even start their own fund drive. In this way, communities are also empowered to set their priorities and actualise them without external validation, extending the idea of self-determination.

As digital giving continues to grow, we are equally experiencing dilemmas. Questions of transparency, accountability, and ethics are big realities. Who ensures the money goes where it should? How do we preserve the moral weight of giving when it is mediated through screens? As creators of technology, we are called to not only facilitate transactions but also foster trust. Transparency, community feedback, and open reporting will be critical in preserving the integrity of African philanthropy in the digital age.

Kenya is making strides toward becoming a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa. The government has unveiled a national Artificial Intelligence strategy, a blueprint aimed at integrating AI into the nation’s economic and social fabric. The document outlines Kenya’s vision for ethical AI adoption, research, and innovation, with a strong focus on governance, infrastructure, and capacity building.

A Vision for AI-Driven Development

At the heart of the strategy is a commitment to leveraging AI for economic growth and digital transformation. Kenya envisions an AI-powered economy that enhances productivity across various sectors, fosters innovation, and ensures that AI technologies are developed and deployed responsibly.

Strategic Pillars of the AI Strategy

To achieve this vision, the strategy is built around five key pillars:

1. AI Research & Innovation

Encouraging collaborations between academia, industry, and government.

Strengthening local AI talent and fostering research institutions to drive homegrown solutions.

2. Governance & Ethics

Establishing AI policies and legal frameworks to ensure responsible and transparent AI use.

Developing ethical guidelines to mitigate risks such as bias, discrimination, and data privacy violations.

3. AI for Economic Growth

Applying AI solutions to critical sectors like agriculture, healthcare, education, and financial services.

Enhancing public services through AI-driven efficiency and automation.

4. AI Infrastructure

Investing in digital infrastructure such as data centres and high-performance computing.

Ensuring access to high-quality datasets for AI training and deployment.

5. Capacity Building & Skills Development

Promoting AI literacy and technical training to equip the workforce with relevant skills.

Establishing AI education programmes in universities and technical institutions.

Implementation and Challenges

The strategy emphasises public-private partnerships to drive AI adoption, with the government creating an enabling environment for startups, businesses, and research institutions. However, challenges such as data privacy concerns, ethical risks, and AI bias are realities to be addressed.

Kenya’s AI strategy signals a bold step toward positioning the country as an innovation hub in Africa. By strengthening its AI ecosystem, the country is setting the stage for a future where AI drives economic prosperity and social progress.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a significant driver of Africa’s economy. These businesses, often born from necessity and nurtured by resilience, embody the spirit of human ingenuity. Yet, for centuries, financial exclusion has constrained their growth. The rise of digital financial services signals not just a shift in transactions but a profound transformation of access to finance and markets.

At the heart of this transformation is a fundamental question: What does it mean to be financially included? Traditional banking institutions have long acted as gatekeepers of capital. But in a world where technological progress disrupts old paradigms, technology is redefining financial access. Digital credit platforms do not merely offer loans; they offer recognition—an acknowledgement of an entrepreneur’s potential beyond the confines of collateral and outdated credit metrics.

Payment platforms like Paystack (our preferred digital payment gateway) transcend the limitations of cash, dissolving physical boundaries and linking economies in an intricate web of interconnectivity. When a small business owner in Kenya sells handmade crafts to a buyer in Lagos with a single digital transaction, it is not just a sale—it is a manifestation of an invisible trust network, a silent yet profound agreement that distance is no longer a barrier to enterprise. This e-commerce revolution is empowering SMEs to move beyond passive participation in economies, enabling them to shape their own financial destinies.

Yet, as with all revolutions, challenges exist. The cost of technology remains an uneven terrain, cybersecurity threats loom, and regulatory frameworks often lag behind innovation. We are, therefore, called upon to reflect: how far are we creating an inclusive digital economy? The responsibility to shape this new frontier must be shared—governments, digital services developers, and consumers alike must consistently think through these challenges to empower more entrepreneurs and rewrite Africa’s economic narrative.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has dramatically transformed the landscape of human knowledge and creativity, raising profound questions about its effect on intellectual capital. Intellectual capital—comprising human, structural, and relational knowledge—has long been the foundation of economic and cultural progress. As AI continues to evolve, it challenges these traditional notions of intelligence and prompts a reevaluation of what it means to think, innovate and create.

At the heart of this evolution is an ongoing debate: while AI enhances human intellectual capacity, concerns persist about its potential to displace human ingenuity. If a system can compose music, write literature, and develop scientific theories, one might wonder: What remains uniquely human in the realm of intellectual capital? While the concerns about AI are valid, in practical terms, we argue that AI augments rather than replaces human creativity. By automating repetitive tasks, AI frees individuals to engage in higher-order thinking, fostering an environment where intellectual capital can flourish and remain distinct from machine-generated outputs.

For instance, AIVA is an AI-powered music composition tool that helps musicians create original pieces. Instead of replacing composers, AIVA serves as a creative assistant, generating melodies, harmonies, or entire compositions that artists can refine and personalise.

But as AI arguments, it also raises questions of ethics and law. Traditionally, intellectual capital has been tied to individual and collective human effort, governed by legal structures that recognise authorship and originality. AI-generated content, however, is challenging these conventions: Can an algorithm be an author? Should companies that develop AI systems claim ownership of their creations? And, if AI produces a novel work, should it be considered part of the public domain? These questions demand a thoughtful and robust discussion about how copyright and intellectual property laws can protect fundamental rights, while adapting to this era of machines as creators.

As an example, blockchain can be used to track which copyrighted works were used to train an AI model. The developers of the model log the datasets used on a public blockchain register. Authors can verify whether their content was used by checking the register. If unauthorized use is detected, the author can claim compensation or request a takedown. Some news agencies, like Reuters, are already exploring blockchain to track AI usage in journalistic content.

Ultimately, AI is not merely a tool that replaces human effort but a catalyst for transformation; it challenges us to rethink our realities, and appreciate that the essence of human intellectual capital may not be lost but rather redefined for a new era of knowledge generation.

Image & Article by Techcabal

Image & Article by John Naughton, The Guardian

Microsoft 365 offers a range of plans and services tailored specifically for nonprofits, providing tools to help these organizations achieve their missions.

Image & Article by Bloomberg

Image & Article by the Guardian

Image & Article by Al Jazeera